Daisy Janie

recipe | harvest spice soup

I have a serious thing about not letting food go to waste. It makes me crazed on a few levels. If I see a banana turning, a potato growing or spinach leaves wilting, I'm prone to whip something improvisational up the minute I notice the southbound food. Salsas, egg dishes, breads, smoothies, salads, spreads - so many things you can make if you get a little creative, use what you have to supplement an idea and freeze what you can't eat right away. That's how this zesty soup came to be this morning! It has the body of a pureed squash or pumpkin soup, and the taste is similar but with a kick that my family will love! Because it's pureed, you don't have to be too careful how you chop or dice the ingredients.

Harvest Spice Soup

Ingredients
3 T olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped 
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 T fresh ginger, grated
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 C water
64 oz. chicken broth (or vegan broth sub of choice)
2-1/2 - 3 C carrots, chopped
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t curry powder
1/8 ground cayenne pepper
fresh ground salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Over med heat, saute onions in olive oil until almost translucent. Add garlic & ginger; saute 2 mins longer. Turn heat up a notch; add sweet potatoes and 1/2 C water. Let liquid cook off. Add another 1/2 C water, let liquid cook off. Do this 2 more times, and the potatoes should be turning soft and aromatic. If you're familiar with caramelizing onions, this is a similar process.

When last bit of water has cooked off, add chicken broth, carrots, spices and salt & pepper. Stir well. Bring to boil uncovered, then turn down and simmer with lid until carrots are soft and could be mushed with back of fork. About 40 mins. Remove from heat; remove lid. Let cool about an hour on stovetop.

Puree in batches in blender. Add all puree back into soup pot. Store for later or reheat. Serve warm with small dollups of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. Sprinkle a teensy amount of ground cayenne and cinnamon over the top.

*If cayenne pepper is not your thing, leave it out. The soup will still be delicious!

words & music: dog days are over by florence + the machine.

Gripped by this song and the singer. 100% full-tilt, full-throttle, all-out gripped. Can't. Stop. Listening. Makes me want to dance with everyone I love all day long. Makes me want to run 10,000 miles non-stop. Gripped.

Driving home from yoga on Friday morning, I flipped to our go-to station out of Philadelphia (radio 104.5 - great streaming audio, btw.) - just in time to hear the first line "happiness hit her like a train on a track..." After some crazy ups & downs last week, by Friday morning, I was feeling very much like I got slammed by the happy train b/c it wasn't a gladness that came nicely - it hit me hard.  So I HAD to hear the rest of the song's message and who this amazing, passionate vocalist was! I turned off the engine and sat in my garage til she was done belting it out, then sprinted into the house to google the band and haven't stopped listening to this song since. Stephanie Fizer tweeted that she's had this album on repeat in her art studio for 2 weeks now - you can listen to some of the band's other songs on their official website.  (p.s. If you like it, great! If not, tell it to the hand.) HAPPY MONDAY!

"Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + the Machine

Happiness hit her like a train on a track
Coming towards her stuck still no turning back
She hid around corners and she hid under beds
She killed it with kisses and from it she fled
With every bubble she sank with her drink
And washed it away down the kitchen sink

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your loving, your loving behind
You cant carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

And i never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the head
Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father
Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers
Leave all your loving, your loving behind
You cant carry it with you if you want to survive

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
Can you hear the horses?
'Cause here they come

The dog days are over
The dog days are done
The horses are coming
So you better run

fabric sighting | appliqued baby carrier.

mei tai baby carrier by Bamberoo
bloom organic canvas | custom applique designed by [very good] customer

The mod leaf shapes of the fabric lended themselves so perfectly to this applique design! Wonderful idea! And carrying it over to the inside of the hood - adorable!! I've seen a lot of baby carriers in Bloom and Audrey, both of which are available by custom order in my etsy shop.

See this one in Audrey and check out the comments. So nice to see this. Thanks for sending this link, Peggy!!

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Have a finished project you'd like to share?
If you have an item made from one of my fabrics, please let me know so I can feature it here!

Or add it to one of these flickr groups:
Daisy Janie Fabrics (general)
Geo Grand by Daisy Janie

shades of grey | strike-offs (digital).

in order from l to r:
zipper tape | dapple dot | pinstripe | river rock | chain link | ragg tagg

Just received these pretty Shades of Grey fabric strike-offs from my digital printer. I took some shots in different lighting and at different angles to give you an idea of the overall sense of the colors. I am ecstatic with this group! Since these strike-offs arrived yesterday, I've been practically stumbling over myself to get to them each time I walk into my office. Like a bad Three Stooges episode.

Resellers/Manufacturers:
Pre-orders are now being accepted. If you are interested in stocking or working with Shades of Grey, you may visit the wholesale page on the Daisy Janie website to download the application & order form.

I won't have 'real' fabric from the mill before Quilt Market, so I'm working with my digital printer in the meantime. I'll have them print some yardage for me to make some samples and whatnot. Need to show these babies! The greys are matched to what the actual greys will be in the print run done by the mill, but the base goods are not the real deal. These are printed on a 4.5 oz organic sateen, and the wholesale fabrics will be printed on 4.5 oz organic printcloth. The hand, weight, drape and density are slightly different.

a reminder that hit like a bolt of lightning.

Last night, M and I were 3 miles from our car on a trail run when a severely severe thunderstorm rolled in on top of us - one that indicated it would take a more northern route (from where we would be) when we checked the radar before we left. At that point, we were halfway on a loop course so turning back or plowing forward was 3 miles regardless. We forged on, moving to a part of the trail that is very densely wooded (shrouded from the sky) and traverses up and down a ski mountain (small by skiing standards, but big by running standards). 

When we emerged from this section about 1.5 miles later and could see the sky again, it was clear the storm was taking the same path we were, and we would not be able to outrun it. We would be putting our lives at risk to make it back to the car. The sky was wickedly black, the thunder was rumbling, and the lightning was flashing behind the storm clouds - it was an all-out sprint b/c J also needed to be fetched from soccer practice mins away! As we dodged in and out of the forest, we realized there was no reprieve from the dangers that had befallen us: in the open sections, we were like sitting ducks; in the woods, we couldn't see the rocks & roots so spraining an ankle or doing a header into a tree from tripping became a real possibility. Scared shitless. In every possible way. Never moreso in my life. All I kept thinking was how badly this was going to end, and our poor kiddo - he would be heartbroken for the rest of his days. (knocking on wood)

With about 3/4 mile to go, M sprinted ahead to get the car. It became evermore imperative to not get injured b/c he was not coming back for me at that point. We had to get the boy! The last section is 1/4-mile run on an open road over a flat bridge - it was completely and utterly pitch black at that point...lightning was cracking straight down now. Cars are zooming past with high beams so I could at least see where I was going. M fetches me about midway across the bridge, and we fly out to get J. Whoosh...even after all 3 of us were in the car, M was driving maniacally until I gently reminded him that we were all together, and everyone was okay. Man, when your adrenalin takes over, it takes over!!!

The crazy coincidence about this event is that earlier in the day, as I was reorganizing some business paperwork, I thought about how I should really show M how the Daisy Janie machine runs so he can keep it going if something ever happened to me. What bizarre timing b/c I don't think morbid thoughts all that often.

By all accounts, we were extremely lucky to have escaped unscathed from that trail, and I am looking at our future as a gift to be handled with care. I feel I already do that in my own way, but that episode sent a message that was loud (very loud) and clear!

color inspiration | bud light lime.

The color registration marks on boxes always catch my eye when I'm flattening them for recycling. I've been paying close attention to these e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. these days since I will have to create my own selvedge registration artwork for all future Daisy Janie fabric production. Don't know why I didn't realize this when I had Geo Grand printed (b/c I had to design or develop every other aspect of it), but I truly thought this was a fabric printing standard...and I didn't even think to ask my mill b/c I was so presumptive in my assumptions. Learning Curve 101.

So back to the color inspiration. Beer, Jan? Really? I'm not off my rocker, I promise. I'm not even tipsy - it's only lunchtime! In this case (pun pun), the beer itself wasn't my color inspiration; the colors of the box/six-pack inserts in which the bud light lime came were the real muse(s) at work. I have hard time resisting limey/chartreuse colors in almost any context! The proof is before you now.

Note:
The colors you see in these mock-ups of my original designs are not necessarily what I would print. They represent an exercise in experimentation. Trying out different values and densities is a great way for me to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone. Finding harmony & balance within a given set of parameters is key to growth - and life, yes?

flower fanfare | (c) Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

flower fanfare | (c) Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

flower fanfare | (c) Daisy Janie. All rights reserved.

press | pure green living. and a word about goals.

Pure Green Living is a new eco-home / eco-lifestyle magazine, which just released its 2nd issue. Celine Rogers of the Pure Green blog is the founder and editor, and she has filled all 115 pages of the Sept/Oct issue with beautiful content and ideas. Very accessible! The horse & vintage quilt photos on pages 24-25 and 30-31 left me speechless. You must go see the horse - there's a lovely quote about quilts and friendship waiting for you! 

I was fortunate to be the business highlighted in this issue's "Pure Green Workplace" interview feature, page 42. If you take a sec to read the Q & A, you'll find out some interesting details about...
... how I got started (painting fabric and walls - yes!),
... what my inspirations are (everything!),
... and what my goals are for Daisy Janie in the next few years (excerpt below).

PDL: What goals do you have for yourself and Daisy Janie?
DJ: Short-term goals include offering greater breadth and depth to my collections through more designs and colorways per collection. Mid-term goals include establishing a core group of 1-color mod prints, offered in an array of basic hues; these will be a stock item, and hue determinations will rotate by season or by popular demand. Long-terms goals include licensing other designers’ work for organic fabric printing under the Daisy Janie label.

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About those goals.
I put them in writing, in a public forum, on purpose, for many reasons. As soon as I did, the path from here to there was plainly evident to me ~ my commitment to expressing the goal immediately became my commitment to executing the goal. Suddenly so logical in that instance. I encourage you to try this. Do you have an ideal goal in the back of your mind? Why haven't you stated it aloud? Do it! See for yourself how putting it out there vaporizes obstacles and clears mental disarray! (Report back!) I've repeated my goals here to underscore my commitment. Especially the last one: licensing other artists' surface designs under the DJ label.

About that licensing goal.
From the start of my endeavor in self-producing organic fabrics, it has been a future goal of mine to bring more organic fabric choices to the marketplace, through my own always-in-stock offerings as well as those of other talented artists. There are so few of us self-producing printed organic fabrics, and as much as I adore what my peers and I are creating, I realize that we represent a small, small drop in the bucket in terms of our stylistic range. Bringing in fresh faces and new aesthetics through licensing will bolster organic fabrics by broadening the appeal across more fabric styles. This is my ultimate goal as it seems to hold the most promise for continuing the forward momentum for the organic fabric category.

Along those lines.
Yesterday, I was excited to read that my friends and peers at Cloud9 Fabrics have been brainstorming and planning in the same vein. Founders Michelle and Gina have initiated a Designer Series for Cloud9, wherein they will be licensing other artists' designs alongside their own. Bravo! This needs to happen, and I'm excited they're in a position to move on it. Go organics!! Baby steps or leaps and bounds - I'll take both!

letting sleeping caterpillars lie.

This little baby is the last caterpillar on a rose bush that contained about sixteen snoozing babies two weeks ago. The caterpillars stay very still and sleep in dogballs (or maybe dogs sleep in caterpillarballs?) during the day so as not to be spotted by a bird's eye, and they munch, munch, munch at night to fatten up for each molting stage! I guess the other 15 weren't as stealthy in their sleep habits.

When Peanutman was in kindergarten, we happened upon a large, heavy cocoon on the ground, which was attached by a thread to a broken branch. I really didn't think it was viable, but we wanted to set it up and keep an eye on it just in case. We did some research and learned that a moth's or butterfly's wings can become damaged if their cocoon is left lying on a hard surface. We bought a little aquarium at the pet shop and managed to suspend the branch over the edges so the cocoon could hang freely.

J took it to school every single day and brought it home every single night for a week, in case there was any action. On the last day, he took  forever getting off the bus, walking ever-so-gingerly down each step. When he got to the bottom, he had a wide and proud grin as he hoisted the aquarium up into the air to show me what was inside: a huge polyphemus moth! To think that those kindergartners were able to see the moth emerging and its wings expanding bit-by-bit...what a fantastic treat!

Now that we knew what it was, we did a little more research to learn how best to release it. We waited til dusk, set the aquarium out under some foliage under the same rose bush pictured above and crossed our fingers. In the morning, it was gone - hopefully to carry out its mothly duties.

Polyphemus moths mate and lay eggs for a week before they bid adieux. About 2 weeks from the time we set this one free, there were teensy green caterpillars allll over this rose bush! Since none of them made it to cocoondom, I don't know if they were the offspring of our Polly or not. There have been many green 'pillar babies in this rose bush over the years, and I like to believe that it's sort of the Home Tree for Polly's descendants. Wraps up the story better that way, plus what's life without a little fairy tale ending every once in a while, right?

Daisy Janie's next organic fabric collection: Shades of Grey.

Introducing Shades of Grey, my next collection of organic fabrics for wholesale. The collection is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship in January 2011.

The sparks that inspired this collection came from two meaningful gifts:  an old Irish wool sweater given to me by my dearest friend Jeanie on one of her first trips to Ireland about 17 years ago (I still wear it) and a tiny beach pebble given to me by Peanutman. Each one indulges me with its texture, softness, color and form, and, most definitely, the embodied sentimentality. As I considered them individually and together, the idea for a collection based upon textures/things stitched together by their characteristic hues began to emerge. I ruminated on many protypically grey things and honed in on the following 6 designs that represent grey objects or textures with equally good feelings as the two that kindled the collection. 

My father's pinstripe suits. A dapple grey horse named Travis eating grass out of my hand. My old Irish ragg wool sweater. A chain link fence to climb over to meet my friends or to reach through to pet a doggie's nose. A bed of river rocks waiting to be skipped or stacked into cairns. A nickel-plated zipper on my favorite pair of comfy jeans.

All grey. All good to me. Pair them with solids in a rich plum, garnet, mustard, turquoise, chartreuse...or pretty much anything! Enjoy!

in search of | pretty grey things.

1. recycled t-shirt pillow sphere from talking squid
2. pendolo clock from uncommon
3. felted beach pebbles from delica
4. bias-cut skirt tutorial (girls) from no big dill [via Craft]
5. mum tote in hand-dyed linen from yorktown road
6. fabric coils neck scarf from necklush

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I'm still here! If you're reading this, then you are, too!! Yay! How are you? Hope your Fall schedules and routines are running smoothly and happily! I missed stopping in here to share and chat about artsy-craftsy stuff. This is the longest I've gone without blogging since I wrote my first post in 2007! My absence here (and on twitter) meant my presence was needed somewhere else.

I was keeping company with the artwork for my next collection of organic fabrics: Shades of Grey! Oh my, oh my, oh my. I don't want to say too much about the group, but I have a distinct feeling these designs will be around for quite some time in many shades in addition to grey, despite the namesake inspiration. Very versatile bunch!

The yarn spinning is complete, and the fabric weaving is underway! My mill tells me I should have fabric by mid-December. In the land of Underpromiseandoverdeliver, I expect to be shipping in mid-January. (Looking for a little customs love this time around.)

Stop back on Monday for a look at what Shades of Grey has in store! Here's what I worked on today: final color selections. Feeling a grey addiction setting in...